With a dearth of pass-catching talent on the roster, the Baltimore Ravens have looked to the trade market to secure a receiver.
The Ravens acquired receiver Chris Givens from the St. Louis Rams, NFL Media's Rand Getlin reports, per a source informed of the deal.
ESPN first reported the news. The team later confirmed the trade.
The Ravens will send a future seventh-round pick to St. Louis in exchange for Givens, but not a 2016 selection, NFL Media's Albert Breer added, per a team source.
Givens, a former forth-round pick in 2012, is a speedster and former track athlete. In his four seasons in St. Louis, the 6-foot receiver has caught 88 passes for 1,433 yards and four touchdowns. He's been buried on the depth chart this season, however, catching just one pass for seven yards through three games in 2015.
The Ravens entered the offseason with rookie Breshad Perriman slated to play the deep-threat role, replacing Torrey Smith. With Perriman out indefinitely after PCL surgery, the Ravens hope Givens can fill that duty, which has been noticeably lacking in a constricted offense.
The Givens trade was also spurred by injuries. Michael Campanaro left Thursday's game with a herniated disk and the team announced Saturday it placed the wideout on injured reserve, ending his season. Campanaro had earned a larger role in the Ravens offense and scored a touchdown Thursday before leaving with the back injury. Steve Smith Sr. also left the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with a lower back injury.
As a one-tick downfield pony, Givens isn't the panacea to the Ravens' offensive ills, but he should see provide deep shots for the strong-armed Joe Flacco, which is an element that has been sorely missing four games into the season.
